Employment in the bike industry in Australia?

mds2076

Considering a career change and have been wondering how easy it is to get into employment working with bikes. I have a mechanical background and enjoy the servicing of them. Just wondering if there's any demand for this sort of work and how easy is it to get into. Any experiences? Is it something worthwhile pursuing?

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1995 Trek Y22
1996 Trek Y33
1997 Trek Y5
1998 Trek Y33
1998 Trek Y22
1999 Trek Y Superlite 200

neon

I think there is now Certificate IV in bicycle repair. Some worth looking into.

Existence bring up good point about 'freelance' bike mechanic. Have a bike mechanic independent of shop would be great idea. Just look at car mechanics, not all work for manufactures dealership.

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Current Bikes

Avanti Giro (Road)
Specialized Enduro (Mtb)

Thylacine

Didn't realise we had a bike industry in Australia.

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j.r.hawkins

Why is this? I recently exercised this 'right', buying in some Hayes discs and mounts from the US, and rest of the hydro brake hardware from Honkers for well less than half retail... including freight.

Is somebody making an obscene profit or do we have just too many layers in the distribution chain here?

Thylacine

Three reasons

1) Yes, too many layers in the distribution channel.

2) Australian market is so small and so dispersed that to be viable, AU wholesalers have to put 30% + markup on anything to make it worthwhile. Low Volume high prices, or high volume low prices. Pick one.

3) Because we're so small and so far away, we don't apply for volume discounting like the big overseas mailorder houses do. While they approach a manufacturer and say "We want to buy 50% of your entire aftermarket 2008 production run, what price can you give us?", by comparrison, the AU wholesaler rings up and say "Can I have 20 of those?"

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j.r.hawkins

Three questions: what itch are you trying to scratch? How will you find enough people with the itch? Will they pay to be scratched?

The problem with this career choice is the low barriers to entry (or perceived barriers to entry). It's not rocket science, and for less than $60 you buy a tool kit that will do most jobs. Your primary competition is people like me: Mr DIY.

There are however plenty of mechanically multi-thumbed people who will pay for small jobs and problems to be fixed, but the issue is how do you go about drawing thems to you so that you can derive a sustainable income?

Perhaps if you establish yourself as a maintenance whiz at the ultra-premium end of the market looking after guys with $7-10k road bikes who need regular maintenance. That will help put you in a space where people are perhaps less price conscious and you'd be more likley to get repeat business. The risk are: this is a small market and you are competing with established bike shops.

So rather than risk shooting your foot off (financially speaking) by jumping off the deep end and dropping your current income stream and going full-time, perhaps try your hand working for a bike store. You could quietly accumulate a contacts and make your mistakes on someone else's time. And if it doesn't work out, you won't drown in a sea of red ink.

Thylacine

You think a full bike toolkit costs 60 bucks?

Try closer to two grand, and there's no way in hell a guy with a 10k roadbike is going to pay some guy with a set of allen keys and a pedal wrench top dollar to even look at their bike.

If you want to be a pro wrench, I can't see how you could possibly do it without having had done it for the AIS or a Pro Team or been in the industry for a decade, nor without a salubrious workshop with polished wood floors and an espresso machine.

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Hitchy

There's no money to be made working on bikes in Oz...the main reason is every second bike shop has a 'wannabe' pro who's not in it for the money....more to have the flexibility of hours so they can ride & earn a few bucks without having to get a 'real' job. The only ones making any seroius money in the whole bike industry in Oz are the distributors...& that's cos they put such a huge markup on stuff compared to what is available overseas. Which is why businesses like PBK, parker, prendas, et al are doing so well. Save yourself years of grief & $$$$ & look elsewhere for a job!

GT1965

I agree whole heartedly, I had an apprentice work on my SID World Cup forks and totally Fncked them up and I had to pay to get them serviced again. That in itself would be a great thread about a bike store in Melbourne that is no longer trading. Getting hands on experience is one thing but when you're learning a trade isn't there supposed to be some-one qualified overseeing? There was when I was a chippie.

j.r.hawkins

Nope. You've missed the point.

I'm talking about guys who, like some of the guys above, have had a gutful of sloppy LBS mechanics (in my experience BS mechanics) and would rather feel safer and look after themselves. It's the DIY guy who is the biggest competitor to the pro wrench, in that we can easily look after ourselves.

Of course guys with multiple $10K+ bikes will pay for quality of service. But realistically, what percentage of the market is that? Seems like a micro market to me, and what you can charge rate-wise is very limited. You have the problem of finding enough customers to provide you with a living, and then getting them to travel to come see you. The cards are stacked in favour of hte bike shop.

But if it's really what you want to do...

I'd still suggest going to work for a bike shop. Learn the trade. Learn to SELL. Find a lazy owner who is happy for you to give them more and more free time by taking over the running of the shop. Then start your own shop. I have a thought that if you sell enough bikes you're a long way toward getting that steady customer base for mechanical work.

caferacerwanabe

You could always move to WA , retail is desperately understaffed at present with shops & especially the hospitality industry crying out for workers . The downside is the boom here has pushed up rentals dramatically so a relative with a spare room would be good.

Also...a 4th reason to add to thylacine....

The bike industry overseas is awash with components that should have been used on factory assembly lines. This product called OEM equipment is supplied by the manufacturers to bike companies at greatly reduced prices but a percentage finds its way onto the open market hence all the kit in plastic bags on Ebay from China etc. A consumer can buy what they want but a retailer here in Oz cannot by law purchase some brands like Shimano from overseas. A retailer in the UK for example could buy his product from the local supplier at elevated prices or a company in Spain , Belgium or anywhere else in the EEC at a cheaper rate.

anth

I don't think he was saying that you can expect to go into business as a bike mechanic with just $60 worth of tools. If you have the time and interest though the equipment needed to work on your own bike won't cost a lot. And thats the point, a lot of us don't need a mechanic, and in fact would prefer to do our own maintenance.

I've spent more than that on tools, but still not a huge amount. I'm sure that a pro would be able to do this sort of work faster than me, but add in the time taken to drop the bike off and pick it up again and that advantage disappears.

As for the original question, I've never been involved in the industry so can't comment on what employment/business opportunities are like.

A little off topic: my wife and I went shopping for a bike for her recently. We'd found a bike she liked apart from the saddle, so we had a look at the women's saddles they had on display then I asked one of the shop employees if she could try the bike with this other saddle. He said that he'd have to get the-other-guy* to change it, so I asked if I could borrow a hex key and do it myself, he said "sure" and gestured towards the workshop. I made a few other adjustments while I was at it, and we ended up buying the bike. I'm not complaining about the service, they were busy and we got what we wanted, it just seemed a little odd.

*he used a name but I've forgotten it